Shloka 62
अथ देहैर्नवैरन्यैर्दिक्षु सर्वास्वदृश्यत । उस समय उसे मरा हुआ मानकर कौरव-दलके प्रमुख वीर जोर-जोरसे गर्जना करने लगे। इतनेहीमें वह दूसरे बहुत-से नये-नये शरीर धारण करके सम्पूर्ण दिशाओंमें दिखायी देने लगा ।। ६१ $ ।। पुनश्चापि महाकाय: शतशीर्ष: शतोदर:
atha dehair navair anyair dikṣu sarvāsv adṛśyata | punaś cāpi mahākāyaḥ śataśīrṣaḥ śatodaraḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Then he was seen again in all directions, assuming other, ever-new bodies. The foremost warriors of the Kaurava host, taking him to be slain, roared aloud; yet in that very moment he appeared once more, manifesting many fresh forms—vast of frame, with a hundred heads and a hundred bellies—revealing the uncanny, deceptive power at work amid the carnage of war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights how, in war, certainty based on appearances can be misleading: triumphal certainty (“he is dead”) collapses when reality shifts. Ethically, it cautions against pride and premature judgment, and it underscores the unsettling power of māyā-like manifestations that can distort perception and inflame violence.
The Kaurava champions believe the opponent has been killed and shout in exultation. Immediately, however, the figure is seen again in all directions, taking on many new bodies, described as gigantic and multi-formed (hundred-headed, hundred-bellied), creating shock and confusion on the battlefield.